On June 18, 2024, VastProTech identified the molecule VPT0197b as its preclinical candidate compound (PCC) for the innovative non-addictive, long-acting analgesic drug project. This milestone marks a significant advancement in the company's R&D efforts centered on developing original drugs from clinically effective natural products.

       This is a potential innovative therapeutic preclinical candidate molecule based on the ion channel mechanism of action that is expected to overcome various side effects of existing analgesic drugs, especially the fatal addiction of opioid analgesics such as fentanyl. The pre-IND communication and application of this drug candidate is planned to be submitted to the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of United States in the third quarter of 2025.

       The nominated PCC molecule (VPT0197b) is the first generation of innovative non-addictive long-acting analgesic drug candidate molecules out from the company's APD project, which has clear analgesic targets and analgesic mechanisms. Starting from computational chemistry-assisted molecular design, to hundreds of new structural molecules synthesized in the wet-chemistry  laboratory, and several outstanding candidate compounds were passed through the preclinical cell and animal testing, and finally VPT0197b won in a comprehensive investigation. In preclinical studies, this drug candidate molecule demonstrated good analgesic efficacy, with a 14-fold analgesic treatment window and good ADMET properties. The project's series of innovative drug candidate molecules completed patent applications in 2023, and the company has full global intellectual property rights.